Arts-in-Education Residency
Through partnerships with Fischoff Competition alumni, Fischoff’s Arts-in-Education Residency programs bring exceptional free educational activities to more than 2,500 community children annually. Since 1995, Fischoff’s outreach programs have reached over 105,000 children and youth throughout Northern Indiana and Southwestern Michigan, placing a particular emphasis on underserved and at-risk communities.
Fischoff’s educational programs enrich the musical and cultural life of the community through personal interaction with musicians of the highest caliber. Artists perform for and interact with children, creating an open educational environment for those who may have limited experience in classical music. The programs are taken directly to audiences in familiar environments – in schools, libraries and community centers. For many, the programs are their first exposure to a live performance of classical music by professional musicians.
All of Fischoff’s educational programs are offered at no cost to participants. S.A.M. I Am (Stories & Music), the flagship program of Fischoff’s Arts-in-Education residencies, reinforces the importance of reading through the power of music. S.A.M. I Am programs allow children ages 5-10 to hear books transformed with flair and imagination by nationally-recognized musicians, all of whom are Fischoff Competition alumni. The program integrates music with literacy, storytelling and drama. Musicians often perform in costume, and instruments and melodies may represent characters, themes, and moods from the story. Programs are offered in school settings, and all classroom teachers receive a free copy of the book in advance of the program to incorporate the story into their curriculum. To date, 40,599 children have been served by this program.
2025 Arts-in-Education Residency

*Photography credit: Mike Grittani
Verona Quartet consists of violinists Jonathan Ong and Dorothy Ro, violist Abigail Rojansky, and cellist Jonathan Dormand. With members from Singapore, Canada, United Kingdom, and the United States, the Verona Quartet is in residence at the Oberlin Conservatory and has performed across four continents, including such prestigious venues as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Wigmore Hall, and Melbourne Recital Hall, in addition to appearances at La Jolla Summerfest, Chamber Music Northwest, Bravo! Vail, Caramoor, and with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.
The Quartet is an active proponent of community engagement through its work with K-12 students. Their early days included a community engagement project in Danville, Illinois, where over two years the Quartet curated a chamber music series and gave outreach performances and masterclasses across elementary, middle, and high schools in the city, resulting in an increase in K-12 music class enrollment to almost double the Illinois state average. More recently, they served as the Ernst Stiefel String Quartet-in-Residence at Caramoor Center for Music and Art, where they performed and taught at over forty K-12 schools in the region. In their role as the Quartet-in-Residence at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, they also engage with audiences outside of the concert hall, in venues such as hospitals, elderly homes, and various businesses. At the Conservatory, they work extensively with students from both the Conservatory and the College of Arts and Sciences; in addition to private teaching and chamber music coaching, they also mentor pre-formed student quartets in the Advanced Quartet Seminar. The ensemble also curates the Oberlin Arts & Sciences Chamber Collective, a collaborative initiative that unites students from across the Conservatory, the College of Arts & Sciences, and members of the Oberlin community. Other quartet residencies include the Indiana University Summer String Academy and the ENCORE Chamber Music Institute.
Fischoff is proud to announce that the Verona Quartet has been selected as the winner of the 2025 Fischoff Ann Divine Educator Award.
The 2025 residency will occur Tuesday, November 10 – Monday, November 17, 2025 in St. Joseph and Elkhart counties.
Schedule of Events
Tuesday, November 11, 2025
Stories & Music: TBA, South Bend, IN
Stories & Music: TBA, South Bend, IN
Wednesday, November 12, 2025
Workshop and Stories & Music: Roosevelt STEAM Academy, Elkhart, IN
Workshop and Stories & Music: Boys & Girls Club with ECoSistema Strings
ECoSistema Community Concert at Roosevelt STEAM Academy, Elkhart, IN
Thursday, November 13, 2025
Stories & Music: TBA, Goshen, IN
Stories & Music: TBA, Elkhart, IN
Stories & Music: TBA
Friday, November 14, 2025
Stories & Music: TBA, South Bend, IN
Stories & Music: TBA, South Bend, IN
Stories & Music: TBA, South Bend, IN
Saturday, November 15, 2025
Stories and Music: Featured as part of Explore-a-Story at St. Joseph County Public Library Main Branch, South Bend, IN
Free & Open to the Public
2:30 PM – Performance in Leighton Auditorium
3:30 PM – Activities and Meet the Artists in the Library Ballroom
Sunday, November 16, 2025
Fischoff Chamber Music Academy & SBYSO Workshop
2:00 – 3:00 PM, Indiana University South Bend, South Bend, IN
Free and open to the public!
Monday, November 17, 2025
Stories & Music: TBA, South Bend, IN
Stories & Music: TBA, South Bend, IN
Collaboration with ECoSistema Music
See first-hand WNIT’s “Education Counts” feature video highlighting some of the fun Lineage Percussion had with the amazing ECoSistema teachers and students at Roosevelt STEAM Academy as part of the 2024 residency. This day-long visit celebrated Fischoff’s fifth year of collaborations with ECoSistema. ECoSistema’s mission of providing community-building, access, and excellence through music to Elkhart County perfectly aligns with Fischoff’s commitment to provide high quality music experiences to all kids and families in our community.
Ann Divine Educator Award
Named in honor of longtime Fischoff Executive Director Ann Divine, who retired in 2018, this award recognizes her visionary leadership in cultivating community engagement through chamber music. The Fischoff Educator Award recognizes the educational outreach work of Fischoff Competition alumni who have demonstrated outstanding and imaginative programming for children and youth in the United States.
As the winner of the Ann Divine Educator Award, the ensemble receives a coveted endorsement from Fischoff, a cash award, and a weeklong community engagement residency including the creation and performances of Fischoff’s flagship S.A.M. I Am (Stories & Music) Arts-in-Education Residency program along with performance workshops and community concerts.
These programs provide arts experiences of the highest quality to students who would otherwise not have access to these opportunities, paying particular attention to underserved schools and communities. Through generous underwriting from foundation, corporate and individual donors, the Fischoff Arts-in-Education Residency programs are free to the more than 1,500 community members who annually participate.
Award Eligibility & Past Winners
The Ann Divine Educator Award serves as a complementary benchmark to the Fischoff Competition, which provides a forum for America’s finest emerging chamber ensembles. The Educator Award honors past Competition musicians who have established professional careers in chamber music, and have proven their ability to successfully build a career in both music performance and outreach education.
The Fischoff organization will select the winner from its national pool of alumni. While no application is necessary, Fischoff is always eager to hear from its alumni and learn of current activities.
All Fischoff Competition alumni who are engaged in music performance/education careers are eligible. Fifty percent or more of ensemble members must have participated in the Fischoff Competition, but not necessarily in the same ensemble. Ensembles must be comprised of three to six musicians. Individual musicians and educators are ineligible.
Education Award Winners
2025 Verona Quartet
2024 Lineage Percussion
2023 Kenari Quartet
2022 WindSync
2021 Thalea String Quartet
2016 Jasper String Quartet
2015 Akropolis Reed Quintet
2013 Aeolus Quartet
2011 Axiom Brass
2025 Residency Sponsors
Residency Accolades
Stories and Music Feedback
“It motivated our goals of fluent reading for sure. It served as a model of the very things we talk about. It also encouraged visualization and deep comprehension along with responding to reading.”
– Dean of Students, Darden
“It was a multisensory experience which was more engaging than just reading the book.”
– 2nd Grade Teacher, Monroe
“Provides an additional “tool” to use in building reading strategies.”
– 2nd Grade Teacher, Darden
“One student’s parent reached out to me and said they have read the story every night before bedtime.”
– 2nd Grade Teacher, Swanson
“My students could not stop talking about the show!” and asked “Are they coming back tomorrow?!”
– Program Director, Charles Black Center
“They loved making connections to the real characters and their instruments that they played.”
– Teacher, Marquette Montessori
“I am so happy that Fischoff’s program has become an annual staple in our community center. I look forward to seeing them every year, just as much as the kids do.”
– Program Director, Charles Black Center
“The selection of a fairy tale integrated well with their current curriculum: It actually was perfect because earlier in the year we had done a Cinderella comparison with Rough Faced Girl and this tied into that perfectly. My students quickly made connections.”
– 2nd Grade Teacher, Beardsley
“I have students who speak Spanish, but most are not literate in Spanish. However, they were excited to see Spanish represented, and a number of them borrowed the book to take home for their parents to read it to them. So we were grateful to have it.”
– 2nd Grade Teacher, Beardsley
Activities were “Spot-on for our grade level and interest level.”
– 2nd Grade Teacher, Parkside
Workshop & Masterclass Feedback
“This visit overwhelmingly supports what I do—the students get to see where they can be going with their instruments, they feel important and are given an opportunity to be proud of the work and learning they’ve already done. They are more excited for learning their instruments … and felt valued as professional musicians played with them.”
– Band Director, Roosevelt STEAM
“WindSync showed us the potential we could grow to if we keep practicing our instruments…This can be more than a hobby if we practice enough”
– 5th Grade Wind Student, Roosevelt STEAM